Radio communication systems that transmit selective call messages to SCRs (selective call radios), such as cellular phones and pagers, have been in use for some time now. The type of selective call messages transmitted to SCRs range anywhere from personal messaging (e.g., pages, telephonic messages) to information services (e.g., advertising, news, weather, etc.).
In some cases, service providers furnish free service to end users of the SCR by way of sponsorship from advertisers. Generally, advertisers sponsor free service under the condition that the service providers ensure that the end users of the SCRs receive their advertisement messages, and that such messages are displayed to the end users prior to presentation of the end user's personal messages. The advertisement messages are generally transmitted periodically over a twenty-four hour period to the SCRs. It is not uncommon for an end user to turn off the SCR during the nighttime as a means for conserving battery power. As a consequence of this action, advertisement messages transmitted during the nighttime are not received by the SCR. Moreover, if the advertisement messages are transmitted only during the nighttime, an end user can intentionally circumvent receiving nighttime advertisement while continuing to receive free service for personal messaging. This situation clearly violates the condition set by the advertisement sponsors for providing free services to end users.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method in a selective call radio for ensuring reception of advertisement messages.